Extremist Tim Walberg (R-MI) Circling The Drain?

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There are 16 Republican extremists who have zero scores on the ProgressivePunch scale that measures the tough substantive votes in Congress. There are all people who would abandon the GOP in a second if the Nazi Party, or any other similar fascist entity, was viable. Nine are unreconstructed Confederates and the rest, from Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Barbara Cubin (R-WY) to Dan Burton (R-IN) and Steve King (R-IA) mostly suffer from various mental afflictions. One half a baby step up the evolutionary ladder-- members who have voted like humans, out of hundreds and hundreds of votes, one time-- are 19 more lunatic fringe wingnuts. Just over half are another lot of unreconstructed Confederates, from North Carolina GOP closet queen Patrick McHenry to the odious John Kline (R-MN) and the recently dumped (in a primary) David Davis (R-TN). But the kook we want to look at today, after some excellent news, is one of the most detestable of all Republican freshman, neo-fascist Tim Walberg, who represents a moderate district in south-central Michigan from battle Creek to the suburbs around Ann Arbor.

Blue America has endorsed state Senator Mark Schauer of Battle Creek in this race so we were doubled excited to read in today's Detroit News that, according to the newest poll, he has caught up to Walberg. What makes this doubly dismal for Walberg is that he has been unable to keep up with the popular grassroots Schauer in the fundraising department and he has been up on TV with ads for 3 weeks. In the quarter ending on June 30, Schauer out-raised the incumbent for the fourth straight filing period, something that is extremely rare under the current fundraising system which completely favors incumbents. Most of Walberg's money comes from far right fringe organizations and PAC but he has also gotten a tremendous amount of cash infusion from the industries whose special interests he's always happy to support, no matter how at odds those interests are with ordinary Michigan working families. Walberg, for examples, wholeheartedly supports the kinds of anti-regulatory agenda that has precipitated the mortgage crisis, while taking $59,045 from the real estate industry, $40,850 from the Investment industry, and $19,450 from commercial banks. But what is probably damaging him most of all is a clear voting record of kissing up to Big Oil-- allowing them to drive up gasoline and heating oil prices-- while scarfing up $21,950 from Big Oil & Gas. Here he is making up some kind of crazy claim that we're buying oil from the Chinese who are stealing it by drilling under Florida from Cuba, some kind of urban legend that Republican Senator Mel Martinez said Walberg has all wrong on. He also wants to allow his contributors at Big Oil to drill in Lake Michigan.

Walberg is so worried that he is joining half the Michigan congressional delegation in avoiding the GOP HateFest in St Paul. Reps. Joe Knollenberg, Dave Camp, Candice Miller and Thaddeus McCotter already announced they're staying away from the McCain disaster and Walberg is planning to go for 2 cocktail parties filled with corporate donors to beg for money before scurrying back to Michigan. He was shocked yesterday when fellow Republican ex-legislator, Paul DeWeese, endorsed Schauer.

“The people of Mid-Michigan are ready for change, and Mark Schauer is exactly the kind of leader we need right now to make this state more competitive, The 7th district deserves a Congressman who will fight to fix our broken health care system, and Mark is the best man for the job.”

An emergency room physician, DeWeese is painfully aware how devastating the reactionary, anti-family health care policies Walberg is always pushing have been on Michigan families. He's so disgusted that he actually resigned from the Republican Party.

The first time I spoke with DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen, he predicted that 2008 was going to be a banner for Democrats in Michigan. I think he had electing Mark Schauer uppermost in his mind. You can donate to Mark's campaign at the Blue America ActBlue page.

Walberg is also delusional.